There are some who argue that the United States should stop aiding Ukraine in its defense against Russia’s unprovoked invasion, and focus solely on our own interests here at home. That is a false and dangerous choice. We can and should do both.
It is strongly in America’s best interest to see Ukraine succeed and Russia fail. Ukrainians are fighting for their freedom against a brutal Russian military that kills civilians and indiscriminately bombs communities. History has shown Russia to be an enemy of freedom; and Putin’s regime continues to commit widespread human rights abuses.
Some argue that the U.S. has sent enough money to Ukraine. But we’re only spending about 5 percent of the entire U.S. defense budget helping Ukraine substantially erode Russia’s military capability, without putting a single U.S. servicemember on the battlefield.
In many instances, the military equipment we’re sending to Ukraine is no longer used by our own military and funding authorized by Congress is used to refill our supply with the most up-to-date technologies. U.S. support has been amplified by our European allies, who are also shouldering the burden of taking in Ukrainian refugees.
Russian victory would be a win for authoritarianism. Putin may be tempted to invade another neighbor and the Chinese Communist Party could be emboldened to invade Taiwan. China is our greatest foe right now, Russia is its biggest ally. Helping Ukraine decimate Russia’s military weakens China, making it less likely to invade Taiwan.
Preventing China from invading Taiwan is critical to our national security. Taiwan is the source of almost three-fourths of the world’s semiconductors, which our society heavily relies on. We cannot allow China to monopolize the world’s semiconductor supply.
Doing the right thing for another nation can also be the right thing for America. I proudly stand with the people of Ukraine and I hope you will, too.
Opinion published in The New York Times Upfront magazine.